troops on iraqi soil without legal protection so ensure that they wouldn't be subject to iraqi laws, iraqi courts and so forth. that was the recommendation of the chairman of the joint chiefs. it was clearly the right thing to do at that point. but this was a political decision by prime minister maliki, not some technical issue in the negotiations. >> woodruff: let me ask you abt anher parof the world, peter feaver. that is china. we heard governor romney say... he cited again and again the need for the united states to take the lead around the world. he said the u.s. should use its great influence to shape events. then he talked about china's recent assertiveness in the pacific region. what would he have the united states do right now to shape events with china? >> well, there has been some bipartisanship on east asia. so the obama administration after flirting with a dierent policyn 20 returned to an emphasis on asia that had been there in the previous administration. there was an emphasis that involved strengthening our alliances with japan and india and presenting to china a clea